Giuliani: I’ll run for president if no GOP candidate looks likely to win the general

posted at 2:05 pm on July 14, 2011 by Tina Korbe

The GOP presidential field is already wide and deep, with additional recruits Rick Perry and Sarah Palin looking increasingly likely to join the race. Now, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani says he’s also still considering a bid and will base his decision on the same primary criterion Palin has said she’ll use — whether any of the current candidates look likely to be competitive in the general election against President Barack Obama. The Daily Callerreports:

Rudy Giuliani says he will join the race for the White House if he feels no other Republican candidate can beat President Barack Obama in 2012. …

Giuliani is traveling to New Hampshire this week for several events, but admitted he’s also going to “see how people are feeling, how good of chance we have of beating Obama, how the candidates are doing, so that I can also make a decision about whether I run or not.” …

Giuliani, who said the field is made up of “some really accomplished people who I admire,” said it’s too early to know if he’s worried that the GOP field is lacking a formidable candidate.

He says he’ll make a decision by the late summer — the same time Palin and Perry say they’ll decide. In the meantime, Giuliani busily laid out his policy positions on Obamacare, the stimulus and (sort of) the debt ceiling in his interview with TheDC. Best quote: “This is by far and without any doubt the worst performance of a president in dealing with our economy in our lifetime,” he said.

Of course, another voice decrying Obama’s economic policies in a public and serious manner is welcome anytime, really, and that’s one reason to rejoice so many GOP candidates are campaigning right now. Beyond that, a Giuliani candidacy would be unlikely to be a game-changer, except to bring a little additional name recognition and a hint of heroism to the field. As a candidate, he most resembles Romney, of course, which might suggest Romney could stand to lose a little by Giuliani’s entrance — but Romney’s unwavering commitment to campaigning (for the past four years, really) surely has cemented the support of most of those who would consider Giuliani. Desire does wonders for people and Romney clearly wants what Giuliani only ponders.

In other words, Giuliani entering at a late date is very different than either Perry or Palin entering at a late date, both because speculation about P-squared has been far steadier and because they’d be competing for a conservative constituency that really only found its current candidate in Bachmann about the time of the New Hampshire debate whereas Romney’s been shoring up his support for months (i.e. Bachmann’s support seems more likely to shift allegiance than Romney’s).

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How many would we be up to if Rudy, Palin, and Perry all got in? What is that? 10? 11? They’ll be lucky to get 30 seconds each for their responses at the GOP debates. We’ll need John King to moderate all of them and interrupt even more than he did last time.

Rudy should run because he would be tremendous as POTUS and would decimate the current Imbecile-in-Chief. Rudy was doomed when running against nobody, however, being able to run against a defined opponent is prime for Rudy. I do not trust Perry, he is non-existent on border secuirty aside from some strongly worded letters last year, Bachmann IS a flake, Palin quit and T-Paw jsut isn’t winning the nomination without being the incumbent Vice-President.
If Rudy wants it, he just has to go and get it.
Run, Rudy, Run
Giuliani/Pawlenty 2012..with John Bolton as Sec. of State!

It will be interesting to see how Perry responds to a Giuliani entry into the race, since Perry endorsed him in the 2008 Republican primary race for President. This could be one reason Perry is delaying entry himself.

Boy, this headline seems a bit presumptuous of Rudy, no? Seems he thinks he has the gravitas to just ride on in at any time and save the party from it’s collective poor judgment in possibly choosing someone who he thinks cannot win the general. This, from a guy who was virtually pistol-whipped in the 2008 election. Is there something I’m missing in this story?

I will take Rudy’s Fiscal conservatism, foreign policy experience and leadership with some social issues tripping him up over a Religious fanatic like Bachmann. Hell, she makes Senator Santorum look liberal on SoCon issues!

Boy, this headline seems a bit presumptuous of Rudy, no? Seems he thinks he has the gravitas to just ride on in at any time and save the party from it’s collective poor judgment in possibly choosing someone who he thinks cannot win the general. This, from a guy who was virtually pistol-whipped in the 2008 election. Is there something I’m missing in this story?

KickandSwimMom on July 14, 2011 at 2:49 PM

Yep, the Republican Party is the poor damsel tied to the train tracks…

I will take Rudy’s Fiscal conservatism, foreign policy experience and leadership with some social issues tripping him up over a Religious fanatic like Bachmann. Hell, she makes Senator Santorum look liberal on SoCon issues!

walker_ro on July 14, 2011 at 3:16 PM

I’ll take a religious fanatic Bachmann anyday, along with those religious fanatic founding fathers.

I’ll take a religious fanatic Bachmann anyday, along with those religious fanatic founding fathers.

Do not insult the Founding Fathers by comparing them to Bachmann…she wans to pray the gay away, she has been born again and saved and went to a church that said the Pope is the Anti-Christ…I like Bachmann exactly where she is, in congress.

Jump in Rudy and the AG is yours. Just promise to frog march Nappy, Holder, Selbelius and everyone else in that crooked admin. And bring Bernie back to straighten out Homeland Defense if we don’t disband it or TSA